Orphaned Land

Latest Orphaned Land News

Below is our complete Orphaned Land news coverage, including columns and articles pertaining to the band. Some articles listed may be indirectly related, such as side projects of the band members, etc.

Note: We began associating news directly with bands in late 2003. Therefore, earlier band news may not be listed on this page.

THAT gets me moving. Did I mention I’ve developed Midnight Sun Syndrome since arriving in Finland? According to the current DSM edition, its chief symptom is “a complete ignorance and lack of regard for the time of day and nonchalant indifference toward tardiness; see also ‘The Casual Southerner.’”

I enter the bathroom. Nera, a shy, tiny black cat, scampers between my legs and out the door. I almost trip and plant a bare foot smack in the litter box. I’m still waking up.

As the mornings have ticked by - it’s still “morning” to us this weekend - it’s gotten more and more difficult to grease the joints, clear the skull, and get going. Tuska is not a camping festival, so I’ll be damned if I’m going to forsake the comforts of home at my disposal. A shit, shower, and shave is as good as a full-immersion baptism after a night of drinking.

My ill-advised windmilling at Omnium Gatherum last night really did a twisting number on my hair, which is in danger of Chris Barnesing. Lacking a brush, I clumsily yank apart the knotted strands and clumps cemented together with dried sweat.

And then, Rachel’s muffled yell over the running shower, through the closed door: “You ready?” Not even close. More...

Israeli symphonic metal act Orphaned Land released a new music video for the track "Let the Truce Be Known." The song appears on the 2013 release "All Is One" (see review here).

The video was directed and edited by Vadim Mechona and produced by Yan Lubin. "Let The Truce Be Known" is one Orphaned Lands favorite songs ever. The lyrics and the story are based on the World War I's "Christmas Truce". However, the story seems to resonate these days more than ever.

Singer Kobi Farhi has shared these thoughts:

"The tragedies we see in the Middle East are down to the fact that no negotiations, nor peace conventions, will ever help us achieve peace as long as hate, revenge, and self-victimization are used as excuses for war.

"The majority of the Middle East's population suffers from a terrible education system; it's actually a worldwide phenomenon. Our first childhood toys are always toy guns. These childhood moments are the most important, when our personality is shaped, and we are subconsciously preparing ourselves for the use of weapons, for wars, for enemies. Add politics and media systems to the equation and you'll get a chaotic loop that never ends. Is it in our nature to fight? Yeah it is, but we can educate ourselves to hold different values.

"- Imagine a world where we have more education and less economical conventions.

"- Imagine a world where all the religious leaders, the ones who claim they are Ambassadors of God, will gather as one and not leave the room, until as one unified voice they declare that war is the most hated act in the eyes of God. Why aren't they doing this already?

"- Imagine a new education system, a one that way before teaching us about the bloody history of humanity, we will learn about the value of life, we will learn that life is sacred and that killing is a worldwide taboo. We will also learn about how to have a dialogue, how to talk, how to listen to each other. It seems to be more important than Mathematics for the moment.

"-Imagine if we were brought up believing that going to war and killing someone is forbidden, the same way that it's wrong to have sex with someone in our family. That's a deliberately extreme example, but just imagine the same first reaction every human will have to the idea of sex with a sibling, and imagine them reacting the same way for killing someone or going to war.

"-Children of the Middle East should play football, play in bands, grow up in a safe city. They shouldn't run away from rockets, bombs and all the irresponsible wars that we, the adult ones, bring to them from their birth up until the moment they become warriors themselves. More...

The final bands have now been announced for this year's edition of the Bloodstock Festival, which takes place from August 7th - 10th (get ticket info and other details over here). The organizers of the festival comment:

"The ‘Metal 2 The Masses’ finals have rocked to a conclusion and some more lucky young bands are joining the New Blood stage at Catton Park next month, plus there's a few last additions for the Sophie and Jagermeister stages.

"Balls Deep bring their trad groove metal to the Sophie Lancaster stage. The Brit outfit have been busy honing their ‘Pro-Pain cut with Black Sabbath’ sound, coming on like the bastard sons of Pantera and classic heavy metal.

"Over on the Jagermeister stage, female-fronted power metallers Aceldama will be impressing allcomers with their high octane performance and audience interaction, while New Blood stage stoner rocker’s Resin will be offering an additional acoustic spin on their new material.

"Meanwhile, the New Blood stage welcomes the last clutch of winners from the last batch of M2TM roadshow finals. Goat Leaf bring their doom groove from the Sheffield heats, Oakhaart’s tech death noise hails from Gloucestershire, impressing judges at the Bristol event, Sinpathetic grace us with their death metal from the Preston night, Eradikator’s thrash metal won out in Birmingham, and lastly but not least, Cacodaemonic's unholy, neo-classical infused death metal represents Nottingham."

The work of JRR Tolkien has long been a favorite muse of rock and metal artists. This year's Bloodstock bands Megadeth, Amon Amarth, and Dimmu Borgir all have used Tolkien references in their work, along with many others (Nightwish, Gorgoroth and even the likes of Led Zeppelin to name but a few).

Now Bloodstock’s co-founder, fantasy artist Paul Raymond Gregory, is thrilled to bring the two themes together and launch a major art exhibition at Bloodstock this year.

Christened the Rock and Metal (RAM) Gallery, the exhibition is to be a permanent addition to the festival and will provide a showcase for a changing selection of rock-related art and memorabilia. Paul Raymond Gregory’s extensive body of work includes many famous album sleeves and monolithic pieces inspired by the writings of JRR Tolkien. Paul’s first ever album cover commission was in 1984 for Saxon’s "Crusader," so launching the RAM Gallery on the 30th anniversary of Paul’s artistic debut in the metal world is fitting indeed.

This year’s first showing will include all the original Bloodstock festival artwork, going right back to the first indoor event in 2001, plus a wide range of Paul’s album art including the sleeve of Saxon’s latest release "Sacrifice." Representing Paul’s Tolkien work, there will also be a large triptych inspired by The Silmarillion opus (from whence Marillion derived its name). The painting will be mounted in a bespoke hand-carved frame created by framer John Davis. Although John has framed much of Paul’s other work, the triptych features the first frame actually designed by Paul himself. In addition, Paul will be signing copies of his book "Beyond Time And Place," which showcases artwork from the breadth of his career.

The exhibition will also include a small selection of bespoke handmade guitars created by young artist/musician Cynosure who is working to re-define the guitar, not just as a functional instrument, but as a working, playable piece of art.

The current Bloodstock Festival 2014 lineup is shaping up as follows: More...

The organizers of the Bloodstock Festival have checked in with the following update about confirming more bands for the 2014 edition:

"Things are hotting up at Bloodstock HQ and even more bands are unveiled for 2014!! Joining the main stage bill are the newly renamed, Entombed A.D. After having to change their name from just ‘Entombed’, LG Petrov and his fellow band members are once again ready to let the music do the talking after a year of internal struggles. They release the highly anticipated new album ‘Back to the Front’ on 4th August via Century Media and are eager to get back on the road.

"Getting the heads banging on the Sophie stage on Thursday are British trad metalheads Monument, and bringing their own brand of theatrical madness and extreme metal are former ‘Metal 2 The Masses’ winners, Gethika. Bringing an international flavour on Sunday are death/thrash metallers Krow, who hail all the way from Brazil. Fancy something a little different? Then check out 16-yr old blues star in the making Aaron Keylock, also performing on Sunday’s Sophie stage.

"Not content with that, Bloodstock can also reveal six killer bands for the Jagermeister stage! Grab a couple Jagerbombs and come headbang to Undersmile and King Creature on Friday, plus Massive Wagons and a special acoustic set from Orphaned Land on Saturday. If you’re still standing come Sunday, be sure to catch Rabid Bitch of the North and The Heretic Order."

The festival takes place from August 7th - 10th and full details are available at this location. The currently announced lineup is as follows: More...

Orphaned Land has issued the following announcement about canceling upcoming Japanese tour dates:

"Japan fans - We have to sadly announce that the shows in Japan planned for March 2014 will not happen.

"We were trying to solve with the promoter some issues without success, the flights never fully booked and as the time went by the prices went higher and higher, we did our best, together with our traveling agent and been very patient and creative, however, it's just not happening...

"We are also sorry that the shows were announced before we confirmed the promoter to do it. We ask you to get your refunds at the promoter's contact details and we will make all the efforts to re-schedule shows in Japan. Love you all and waiting to meet you all in the future!"

Orphaned Land has been performing live around in the world in support of latest album "All Is One" (reviewed here). More...

Day three was port of call day for the largest floating festival. This year, the destination was set by the fans who voted narrowly to make port at Costa Maya, Mexico - a new destination and within a short journey to the Mayan ruins at Chacchoben. The boat docked at about noon and I gathered a small group of friends, which included cabin mate and vocalist for Helsott, Eric Dow, LT Rhapsody/21 Octayne drummer Alex Landenburg (who was onboard playing with Bonfire) and Margie, a rabid metalhead who has attended every single 70K cruise. Joining us on the journey was Bonfire vocalist Claus Lessmann and bassist Uwe Kohler, as well as Metal Injection's Dave Pando.

It's was a hot, humid and unforgettable journey into one of mankind's most advanced and mysterious civilizations in Mezo-America, the Mayans. We boarded the coach buses and made our hour long journey into the flatlands of the Yucatan peninsula, now largely abandoned due to high category 5 hurricane strikes in the last 10 years (though you can get a sweet land deal if you wanted to take the risk). Our guide was Manuel,,,who is also known as the "Silver Fox." He provided valuable information on the history of Mayan civilization and touched on the obvious reasons why the word failed to end on December 21, 2012 and the possibilities why the civilization may have disappeared. The map of entire Central American region of ruins also seemed to contain a site that could unlock a title of a future LT Rhapsody song...."The Temple of the Turtles" - or so we had a pretty good chuckle about. More...

When day two began, it was about two hours from when day one ended....and I was grateful to have had an hour of sleep compared to many others who had none. Energized by Gloryhammer’s phenomenal set of unicorn greatness....I plotted my day.

It got off to a rocky start for shows, since writing my day one report forced a miss of Poltergeist’s first gig since reforming. Tired set in big time and I begrudgingly missed Freedom Call’s first set as well, two items that will not be missed on Thursday. So today’s schedule ended up like this: Swallow the Sun, Terrorizer, Bonfire, Leaves’ Eyes, The Haunted, Orphaned Land, Dark Tranquility, Carcass, Haggard, Death: DTA Tours. I sacrificed plans to see Satyricon, Fear Factory and Septicflesh, knowing that I had to follow up. More...

Bloodstock has added three headliners to the Sophie Lancaster stage: Rotting Christ, Sister Sin, and Satan.

A teaser trailer for the U.K. fest can be seen below, and this year's edition is set to take place on August 7th - 10th at Catton Park in Derbyshire. There are still many more bands to be announced, and the current lineup is as follows:

UMC, the promoters for 70,000 Tons of Metal, announced the final band just as the floating festival sets sail today. It was no surprise as Germany's Atrocity was named. The band makes up the majority of Leaves' Eyes, who are also on the cruise, and both acts will set out on a North American Tour with Moonspell this weekend right after the cruise returns to Miami on Friday morning (see tour dates here).

The sold out event will set sail at 4:00pm today from Miami with a stop at Costa Maya, Mexico on Wednesday before heading back to Miami on Friday morning. Metal Underground.com will also be onboard to provide daily reports on all of the festival activities.

UMC, the promoters for 70,000 Tons of Metal, announced two of the final three acts as the final weekend before the floating festival sets sail in three days (Monday, January 27th) has arrived. California's Nekrogoblikon and Tampa death metal act Massacre were welcomed onboard in the last 24 hours.

Massacre will be performing some songs from their forthcoming album "Back From Beyond" during the band's two sets.

In addition, UMC reported that the event has sold out, however there are still single tickets in shared cabins still available. For more information, head on over to www.70000tons.com. The cruise dates are from January 27, 2014 to January 31, 2014 - with the destination set as Costa Maya, Mexico, which was voted on by the fans. Metal Underground.com will also be onboard to provide reports on all of the activities.

There is at least 1 more band to be announced (it is unknown whether any add on acts will be announced as have been in past years) and the current lineup including the latest is as follows:

Oliver Withöft, co-owner of independent record label Century Media, passed away on January 20th, 2014 after falling ill several months ago. He was 49. Robert Kampf, Century Media founder, comments:

"I have lost my best friend of 32 years and my business partner of 24. Although the unthinkable already happened three days ago, I am still in a state of utter shock. Oliver Withöft leaves a space that cannot be filled for all who held him dear. He was a tremendous father, husband, son and friend and will be terribly missed. I will always treasure him in my heart as the witty, brilliant and altogether great person he was. Farewell Oliver, see you on the other side and in our next life."

The following press release was also issued by Century Media:

"Born in Dortmund, Germany in 1964, Withöft studied linguistics, business and history in both Germany and the UK. Robert Kampf started Century Media Records 25 years ago simply to create a suitable label home for his own band, Despair. He was looking for a trustworthy and strong partner to lead the company with and found this person in his best friend and fellow musician Oliver Withöft, who joined the company eighteen months later, sharing the same love and passion for music, and metal in particular. Since that very day, these two friends developed one of the most important independent record labels on the planet. Today the company has around 100 people on payroll in Dortmund, London, Los Angeles, Berlin, Paris, Milan, Madrid, Melbourne and the Netherlands.

"A lot of musical careers were developed over the years: Lacuna Coil, Shadows Fall, Suicide Silence, In This Moment, Otherwise, Iced Earth, Die Broilers, Arch Enemy and Heaven Shall Burn are just a few of them. Century Media became a brand name recognized across the world. Oliver Withöft was always the strategic, legal and financial mind behind the organization. He was not only a strong fighter for the company, but also a very intelligent and forward-thinking leader. When the music industry drastically changed in the '90s, he was the first to think about new ways to adapt to the needs and challenges of the rapidly-changing market. We have lost a great man with an amazing sense of humor, a warrior, and an overall very human being. Oliver leaves behind a wife, Judith, and their three daughters." More...

UMC, the promoters for 70,000 Tons of Metal, launched another volley of acts for the upcoming floating festival, which sets sail in 11 days: New Jersey's Swashbuckle, Norway's Keep Of Kalessin and International act Twilight Of The Gods.

For Swashbuckle, it will be the band's second appearance on the cruise and Twilight of the Gods appeared on the first cruise as a Bathory tribute band and will pay homage to Quorthon in one of the band's two sets this year.

The cruise will take place from January 27, 2014 to January 31, 2014 - with the destination set as Costa Maya, Mexico, which was voted on by the fans. For more information, including booking your trip - head on over to www.70000tons.com.

Swashbuckle, Keep Of Kalessin and Twilight Of The Gods join the previously announced acts, with 3 more bands still to be announced:

UMC, the promoters for 70,000 Tons of Metal, launched another volley of acts for the upcoming floating festival, which sets sail in 11 days: Germany's Freedom Call, Boston's Unearth and Danish death thrashers Hatesphere.

The cruise will take place from January 27, 2014 to January 31, 2014 - with the destination set as Costa Maya, Mexico, which was voted on by the fans. For more information, including booking your trip - head on over to www.70000tons.com.

Freedom Call, Unearth and Hatesphere join the previously announced acts, with 6 more bands still to be announced:

The organizers of the Bloodstock Festival are excited to announce four more bands to the 2014 bill.

East Coast metal/hardcore legends Biohazard join the Ronnie James Dio stage line up. The band is hard at work on a brand new album due for release this year via Nuclear Blast Records. Band leader Billy Graziadei comments: "We've watched some awesome Bloodstock line-ups over the past few years and we're very psyched to be part of this one! See you in da pit!”

Fronted by current Nightwish vocalist, Floor Jansen, Revamp also steps up for a main stage slot. Floor successfully juggles her commitments to both bands and is taking Revamp on the road across the US this Spring with Iced Earth and Sabaton. About the Bloodstock slot, Floor comments “Revamp is thrilled to play at Bloodstock this summer! It’s a great festival with a strong metal heart in a metal-loving country for which we have nothing but great memories. We can't wait to rock the British crowd again!”

Ground-breaking Israeli progressive metallers, Orphaned Land also join the bill. “I could never imagine in my wildest imagination that an Israeli band would be followed by thousands of Muslim fans from around the world,” commented frontman Kobi Farhi, but that is exactly what has happened. The band’s album, "All Is One," is available now.

Belgian death metal outfit Aborted also picks up an early main stage slot at Catton Park. The band has just entered the studio to record new album, "The Necrotic Manifesto," which is due for release this summer via Century Media. This April the band head over to tour North America with Kataklysm, before returning to Europe for the summer festivals.

UMC, the promoters for 70,000 Tons of Metal, announced the next two bands for the upcoming floating festival: Gloryhammer (featuring Christopher Bowes of Alestorm and Thomas Lazlo Winkler formerly of Emerald) and reformed Swiss thrashers Poltergeist (featuring André Grieder, who sang vocals on Destruction's 1990 album "Cracked Brain").

The cruise will take place from January 27, 2014 to January 31, 2014 - with the destination set as Costa Maya, Mexico, which was voted on by the fans. For more information, including booking your trip - head on over to www.70000tons.com.

Gloryhammer and Poltergeist join the previously announced acts, with 9 more bands still to be announced: